


Pretty brown eyes

by Gennyloveszayn



Category: Gymnastics RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, F/F, Gymnastics, raistafina, womens gymnastics
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-05
Updated: 2018-08-01
Packaged: 2018-08-29 03:42:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8474077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gennyloveszayn/pseuds/Gennyloveszayn
Summary: A raistafina high school au where Aliya falls in love with a clumsy girl with pretty eyes.New chapter after almost 2 years I’m so sorry





	1. Investigation Raisman

**Author's Note:**

> So please don't hate me I know it sucks :) tell me what you think about this chapter and what I can do to improve it. Have a nice day!!

It was class the of 2017 that included a large number of your usual group of high school students including: Aly Raisman and Aliya Mustafina. These two specific girls didn't know of one another until this year. 

It was first day of senior year at Washington school of arts. It was around 6:30. Aly woke up and started to get ready for school. She made herself a poppyseed bagel with cream cheese, which to her was the finest of cuisine. Continuing her morning routine she had done for the past 3 years of high school, she was nearly done by 7:15. She finished putting together what she thought was her most stylish outfit in her wardrobe; a metallic pink t-shirt paired with a white tennis skirt. To complete her outfit she wore baby pink converse. She was ready for whatever came her way. 

Aliya on the other hand... a little distraught. It was Mustafina's first day at Washington ever. Yes, everyone else thought it was strange to move a great kid to another high school right before graduation but she had to. Like many others, Aliya's dad was offered an amazing job in architecture in the U.S. so the family moved on over from Russia. 

Coming to America was nothing new for Aliya, she had been her many times for vacation and spoke perfect English. She did go to an English school in Russia after all. She did not know what or who to expect in Washington. She was hoping she would find someone to help her get through the hallways and to her classes safely. Sadly, it doesn't really work out like that. 

The time was close to 7:20 when Aliya left for school. Her dad drove her. Her father was the only one licensed to drive here in the states and she was highkey embarrassed that she couldn't. 

On the drive to school, her father struck up a conversation to get the day going. "Who's ready for relationships, breakups and no sleep this year!?" Aliya heard. Aliya ignored. It definitely wasn't the first time her father had been way too enthusiastic about something. Not to mention his thick Russian accent didn't make things any better trying to get in the mood to going to an American school for the first time. 

Time had come for the 4th year Washington student: Alexandra Raisman to get into her clean new Nissan and head to hell sorry I mean school. She blasted music in her car as she drove the 10 minute drive to school. 

"Write on me" by Fifth Harmony came on the radio and Aly almost nutted since it was her favorite song at the moment. 

"Write on my skin, bring me to life  
Can't start again, there ain't no eraser  
All of my flaws, you got them so right." She sang and sang and sang until her stomach did a turn just as she arrived. 

The Russian had been waiting in the office for her personal information and schedule to be processed for about 10 minutes. "Is it always this freezing in this school" she asked the timid woman. "I'm afraid so sweetie, welcome to Washington." Aliya took a mental note to bring a sweater every day following. 

She scanned the hallways searching for room 62 just to find out she was in the farthest hall ways from the room. Five minutes later she had found her destination, right on time for first bell to ring. While all the kids were chatting, hugging and ranting on about how lit their summer was, Aliya was pulled to the side by the teacher. 

Her first period teacher was named Ms. Haney and taught AP biology. She had on some intense eyeliner and a heavy fake tan. Her teacher seemed very kind straight from the beginning but she didn't want to assume things too quickly. She asked Aliya about her life back in Russia and what she enjoys doing in her free time. 

The class continued to be rambunctious and wild while Aliya was secluded into the corner taking in the details of her new school. The time was currently 8:00. The final bell had just rung and Aliya found a chair all the way in the back of the class.

Ms. Haney started off by lecturing the class about her family and what we will be working on throughout this course. It was when she was speaking when someone scrambled into the room a sligh bit a mess. "Sorry Haney!" said the mystery girl. "I was swept away by the freshmen crowd."

Aliya proceeded to pay attention to her teachers lecture when the distraught girl came into her view. Aliya REALLY liked her outfit so when the girl dressed in pink and white approached the last seat in the class (the one right beside Aliya,) the Russian got the full view and was wowed. She had an amazing body. Aliya hadn't yet seen her face until she looked up almost speechless. She was so utterly beautiful. "Hi I r-really like your outfit" she stumbled. The girl flashed the brightest smile Aliya has ever seen, stared in to her eyes and gave her a joyful "thanks so much!!" That was it for Aliya. The second she saw those shimmering brown eyes attached to that beautiful girl, she melted. "Boy is this going to be a wild year" Aliya thought.


	2. Maybe this could work out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always I tried my best and I hope you liked it. Leave me a comment and tell me what you think!! I will try to update every Friday night if I can... enjoy!

It was currently the second day of school that followed Mustafina's first day of the American high school experience. 

While Aliya picked out her clothes for the day, her father made her pancakes to excite her for another stressful day of school. The cozy smell of the food brought her downstairs. Ever since coming to America, she had passed by a foreign restaurant named "IHOP." She drooled just about everytime she passed the sign. Her dad promised that after school on Friday, he would take her to get anything she wants. 

Her dad was no chef but he was good enough to satisfy her crazy pancake cravings. She savored every last bite. The expensive syrup warmed her throat, the glass of milk cooled down her sweet tastebuds. Just before she fell in love with the breakfast food, her dad held the door open for the little princess to leave the house and get in the car. 

Aliya had not ever had a wild fashion sense. Unlike most of the girls in her new school, she stuck with neutral colors. Nothing too flashy since she never liked to stand out. 

The Russian arrived at school with a tummy full of butterflies and anxiety running wild. Aliya always considered herself more of an introvert than an extrovert. Her friends would describe her as chill more than anything else. She constantly reminded herself "stay true to who you are. Never change for anyone" but at a time like this she felt she wanted to do whatever to fit in with the rest of the girls. 

Nerves were something that got Aliya badly. Seeing an attractive person, talking to strangers, public speaking and homework were all things that got Aliya anxious. You could consider her a normal kid. 

Aliya wandered around the halls until finding her homeroom once again just in time for the first bell to ring. Ms. Haney asked her about the previous day and how she likes the school so far. Aliya just smiled and said "It was a tad bit different but I'm excited to see what's to come!" Basically she lied because she didn't want to tell her only good teacher that she has never been more nervous in her life. 

She saw some familiar faces once the final bell rung. Instead of the pretty girl that sat next to her yesterday, today it was a boy named Jax who seemed very yikes. He asked "were the boys this good looking as us in Russia huh?" "I'm sorry I wasn't listening can you repeat that" Aliya murmured not wanting to sound rude. "I fucking said are the boys as hot as me in Russia?" Jax said in a threatening tone. Aliya felt beyond tormented. 

The foreigner thought of nothing to do but to sit there, in fear of the hormonal teenage boy sat next to her. Ms. Haney had finished her lecture about the class syllabus by this time and she gave the class a few minutes to talk quietly amongst themselves. 

"What's your problem shorty? Why don't you talk to me? Russian girls must suck." By this point Jax was talking pretty loud meaning many of their classmates heard the boy's harmful tone. A girl with a head full of voluminous large curls snapped her head back to glance at Jax with a disgusted face. Curly walked up to where Jax was sitting and flicked him hard in the back of the neck. She screamed "what the hell is your problem idiot?? Do you have any clue of what comes out of that stupid mouth out yours?! No woman will ever speak to you in your life if you keep talking that shit." 

To say it lightly, Aliya had admired curly very much. She just met her but felt like she needed to give her soul to the new face. The curly head walked over to Aliya and introduced herself as Laurie Hernandez. Mustafina gave Laurie a small smile kindly thanking her "thanks so much you are so brave how could y-you talk to him like that?" "Haha I'm not sure, I've always been an outgoing kid that cares for others but don't thank me he was just an idiot that needed to wash that mouth of his."

Laurie and Aliya talked about themselves to each other for the next 5 minutes. They got to be really good friends in such a short time. Aliya found out that Laurie did gymnastics for the schools team and was super passionate about the sport. She thought to herself no wonder she is as short as me, she's a gymnast. Aliya had never really watched or heard of gymnastics but she figured it would be fun to watch Laurie compete sometime in the near future. 

The new friends said their last goodbyes until the bell rung and they went their separate ways. The rest of Aliya's day was mostly a blur apart from her thinking about the new friend she had just made. Maybe this could work out for her. Maybe, just maybe she just found a lifelong friend. 

Aliya had never seen anything like Laurie. She was confident, positive, pretty and clever which were all the traits Aliya had dreamed of having. Nothing was more assuring than seeing a brown pouf of curls tied to a fresh face with beautiful hazel eyes, almost emerald green to pull her out of a conflict with a boy on her second day of school. 

Mustafina had finished the rest of her day with boring classes and loads of homework. By this point of the day she was drained. Aliya walked for 20 minutes until she reached her house. 

Changing into something more comfortable than her school clothes, it had been the end of the night and Aliya was getting ready for bed until something struck her. She felt a change in the way she looked at other girls. Usually she found herself being jealous of other girls her age but now she looked at them with admiration. This feeling was very different to Aliya. Back where she lived in Russia, homosexuality was looked down upon but these thoughts were making her head spin. 

It wasn't like she wanted a relationship with Laurie, she just really opened her eyes as to how beautiful women are.  
This uneasy sensation soon left her stomach as the young girl drifted of to sleep with an open mind for the next day.


	3. Gymnastics practice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little update: so last week I was bombarded with schoolwork so Saturday night I wrote almost this whole chapter and deleted it so here I am rewriting it! Hope you are enjoying my story :) happy thanksgiving for everyone celebrating and enjoy your day! If you would like to leave a comment about anything feel free!!!! Happy reading 

Wednesday. It was halfway through Aliya's first week of the American high school experience and she wasn't the least bit excited for days to follow. She may not have been excited to actually go to school but she definitely was excited to see a very special person. Or persons. 

Aliya had woken up around 6:30am with heavy eyes and a busy mind. Her mind was busy because of the thoughts that occupied her the previous night. She had stayed up until 12am thinking about the new friend she had just made. Asking herself what would she do without that curly head, thinking long and hard. There was too many reasons on why she was so perfect. She was just so kind and sweet to her. Laurie was gods gift in her eyes and she was beyond grateful she made such a great friend only on the second day of school. 

Finally coming out of her fantasy land, She stumbled down the stairs in a casual outfit that she put together in under a minute of course. Then Aliya threw a Nature Valley granola bar and banana into her lunch and started to make her way outside to their glossy new Volkswagen. 

The daughter and father duo hopped into the car and started to head off to school for the third time this week. The drive there was quick besides the part where Aliya drooled over the IHOP drive thru sign. She suddenly remembered her father thought it would be nice to reward her at the end of her first week of senior year in a new high school by going to IHOP on Friday and was overjoyed. Just today and 2 more days and she will get to finally release her cravings into some yummy food. Her mind filled with pancakes topped with a blueberry chocolate sauce, warm marshmallow cream and drowned in maple syrup. Pulling herself out of that fantastic pancake fantasy was difficult until she saw her new school. That's when the cravings died down and the throw up stated to rise. 

Aliya waved goodbye to her dad while making her way into school once again. She paced to Ms. Haney's first period class. The final bell rung and all the students piled into class very quickly. 

There she was. Her new friend was sitting there by herself waiting for Aliya to come over. Aliya walked over to Laurie with a smile on her face the whole time. She sat down and they instantly started talking once again while Ms. Haney was getting ready to lecture. "Hey!! How was your Tuesday? Did you do anything fun? Did anyone hurt you cause if they did I will personally find them and kill them." 

Aliya was beyond blushing at this point. Even back home, she never had friends as kind and considerate as Laurie was. Aliya kept her head down saying shyly "haha n-no I'm good um I haven't really done much since school yesterday."   
"Cmon sis you have to had done something fun or at least ventured off around Washington!"  
"Actually… I have drooled over the restaurant IHOP multiple times in the car if that counts as something fun. Have you been to it?" Aliya said shrugging while asking. "Heck have I been there?? I go all the time with my gymnastics team if we win! Also one of my teammates works there so it's very convenient for us; I think she sits towards the front of the class up there" Laurie said sounding excited as she pointed towards her teammate sitting at the front of the classroom. 

Aliya looked in the direction of Laurie's finger and laid eyes on her. Then came the butterflies erupting in her stomach. At that very moment she saw the beautiful girl that she made her first conversation with on the first day of school. She was so beautiful in every way. The way her eyes were big, shimmery brown eyes had her getting a bit overheated looking at the fine piece of art. Aliya took in every detail of the kind girl until she was forced to snap out of LaLa land by some lady with a heavy spray tan. 

That lady was Ms. Haney who was finally ready to start their first lesson on cells. Most of the kids in her class participated often, figuring that they learned this topic all throughout high school and middle school. She felt a bit left out but her parents were both incredibly intelligent, she could just ask them or even Laurie. 

Ms. Haney was slowly teaching less and less until she gave up and let the students talk "quietly" against themselves. Laurie and Aliya resumed their conversation until Laurie said something very exciting. "Hey Aliya do you mind coming to my gymnastics practice on Thursday right after school. I promise it will be fun and I reallllyy want to get to know you better! So what do you say?" Once again, Aliya felt herself getting butterflies as a peachy blush rose to her face after realizing. The cute girl in the front row is on the gymnastics team therefore, she will get to see the beauty after school tomorrow... in a leotard. Shook was the first emotion Aliya felt but then snapped back into reality without hesitating to respond. "Yes yes yes 10000% yes I want to see you gymnasts practice so bad ahhhh it's gonna be so fun!!!" 

And with that, the bell rung and off the two shorties went. Aliya found out she really likes the way her math teacher taught which left her optimistic for the rest of the year. Then, her AP government teacher was a little iffy. Boring and chill. Not so bad. Finally her last class of the day was musical theater which lowered her self esteem. Aliya definitely did not think she had a good voice but everyone else has said otherwise. One time she sang in a small restaurant back in Russia and it left everyone in a standing ovation, applauding the gifted singer. 

The clock had struck 3:00pm and all 1,500 students in the school fled to their cars while Aliya plugged in her headphones and started walking home.   
The young girl was getting so happy thinking about the gymnastics practice tomorrow. Her checked flushed a baby pink, she smiled ear to ear. That's how her day ended. 

 

Thursday came around and boy was Aliya Mustafina happy. Literally jumping out of bed was an overexcited puppy aka Aliya. She thought about nothing but what was to happen after school. 

She packed her lunch quickly and grabbed a solo cup filled with hot coffee stores with French vanilla creamer.   
Now came the challenging part. Mustafina stood glaring at her wardrobe confused not knowing what to wear on this grand occasion. Many minutes later she chose a purple and blue sundress, pearl earrings and white vans. 

Considering how rushed her morning was, the rest of the day went by extremely slow. After first period started Ms. Haney was way more collected than any other day before. The class took notes and discussed the differences between a plant and animal cell. Before Laurie got to tell Aliya how excited she was for practice, the bell rung. They quickly said bye and parted ways (hallways.)

Musical theater was coming to an end aswell as Aliya's attention span. The boring old school day was a blur until the release bell rung and Aliya bolted towards the gymnasium. 

When the shorty reached the gym she was shocked to say the least. The room was so large, elegant, bright and just stunning. Aliya's eyes glimmered with excitement. 

Aliya soon found curly Hernandez and completely lost all chill whatsoever. She spoke 300 words per minute with no breaths in between. She couldn't believe this is where Laurie trained every single day for a whole school year. 

Laurie did a few special routines to show off for Aliya who highly enjoyed it. Finally came 4 o'clock, the time practice actually started. Aliya sat on a mat right next to where the girls were training.   
She spotted a girl in her math class and a girl from musical theater on the team. 

To say the least, the team was beyond talented. The girls were all so fluid in the air like scarf in the wind. Every toe was so pointed and precise it made Aliya wonder how accomplished gymnastics must make them feel. 

Then she saw her. Aly Raisman in a magenta leotard. It was probably the most beautiful sight Aliya has ever seen. The fabric of the leo fit her physique so well, so tight. Every curve was sacred, every muscle was showcased. That beautiful woman was sculpted by the gods. 

Aliya took in every second with pleasure. She felt a growth in her love for this school and more specifically this girl. And she could not wait for another practice to see her. 

Laurie was such an amazing gymnast and could easily win every title with those turns. 

Time soon came to an end of practice.   
Laurie came running to Aliya in joy, both of them hugging for 3 minutes straight in admiration. Aliya thought it would be nice to congratulate all 20 girls on the team and that is exactly what she did. Every girl was individually complimented because that's the type of person Aliya was and she was proud of herself. When it came to complimenting Aly, Aliya stumbled shaking her hands with sweaty palms. "You are such an amazing gymnast it's incredible how good you are!" Aliya said nervously. "WHAT? Are you serious thank you thank you thank you so much you don't know how much that means to me?!!!" Aly said way too overexcited. Then it happened. Aly hugged Aliya in all of her glory (and hot leotard.) Aliya felt so comforted by her new classmates that the feeling took over her all throughout the rest of the day. 

She went to bed with a gigantic grin on her face. She felt accomplished for the acts of kindness she has done today. She is so proud of Laurie and the whole gymnastics team on how hard they work. With happy dreams to come, Aliya falls asleep to the thought of going to IHOP tomorrow.


	4. Why was she so special

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She’s a long one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi hello please don’t kill me. Yes it’s been close to 2 years since I’ve updated and I am incredibly sorry for all you raistafina stans that are so deprived. Reading the past 3 chapters was SO cringe looking back they were so bad so I can only hope that my writing is even a little better now. I’m so so sorry you readers had to endure such terrible writing and such a long wait. I appreciate any comments, criticisms, plot suggestions basically ANYTHING (especially if there’s anything you would want me to take out or put in the beginning scene.) This is dedicated to one special friend I have. So here we go! Happy reading.

Aly had woken up in the middle of the night drenched in her very own sweat clinging sourly to her tender legs. The uncomfortable feeling of sticking to her bedding had taken over her, making her even more angry after waking up at 3 in the morning on a school night. 

After sitting in one spot, stunned, she angrily threw the comforter off the bed and laid back down, staring at nothing but the ceiling. Usually her long day at school and gymnastics sent her right to sleep without a problem but tonight was different. Taking a second to collect her thoughts, she realized she was going through the closest thing she’s experienced to a panic attack. 

A sensation of shortness of breath flew over her rapidly and the fact that she could not catch her breath scared her even more. Her brain was overworking itself, clouding her head with the worst case scenarios possible. Immediately she wondered what was she to do. She had never experienced something as serious as this. While knowing a couple of friends who suffered with anxiety and have mentioned of their panic attacks, she had not a single clue of the severity of what actually going through it was like until now. She never experienced any sort of anxiety, but instead was the one consoling her friends whenever they were going through something difficult. 

Fear was all she felt. Fear of what was happening, fear of the future, fear of not being successful. Everything was crashing down at once. What if this gymnastics thing doesn’t work out? If she doesn’t get into her selected colleges, what will her parents think of her? How is she supposed to react when these 4 years finally end and she won’t see the same people ever again? All societal pressures were getting to her and she felt like she had no answers, no control of her life. The stress was finally getting to her. 

Half an hour later Aly had seemed to calm down. With her parents being asleep, it was extremely difficult to cope by herself. Thinking back to the slim amount of useful information she took from her already over 3 whole years of high school, she thought of those rare presentations that actually mentioned dealing with mental illnesses. With people in the newer generations being more open to talking about the troubles they face, you would think that counselors would say something other than “if you need to talk to someone, I am here or you should consult a family member.” Gee that sure helps. Aly were to leave her house with sleeping family members and go to see her schools counselor at 3 am. Totally. But instead she was to sit, alone, waiting for this to pass. All because baby boomers were too afraid to steer near and discuss such a topic like mental illness. 

Soon enough Aly was able to go back to bed until she was to be woken up only a few hours later just to go to a place she dreaded. 

With her dad Rick opening up the curtains in her room wide at around 6:30 in the morning yelling “ALY GET UP ITS FRIDAY AND YOU STILL HAVE TO GO TO SCHOOL.” And with that, Aly proceeded to wake up like a pure zombie with under eye circles darker than her home room teacher Ms. Haney’s spray tan. She then walked to the bathroom, brushed her teeth, got dressed in sweats and put on her glasses instead of contacts cause she was not about to put any effort into her appearance after suffering through an experience like that. Time passed by slowly and soon enough, it was time to get in her car and drive off. 

Her whole mood was off that day. This event shook up her whole week and sweet, social, kind Aly Raisman turned into an isolated, lonely, sad 17 year old going to school. 

Soon enough, she reluctantly went off to school feeling a strange feeling she had never felt before.

 

Aliya had entered school extremely excited for it to be not only the ending of her first week living in a new country, but also the first time she was to hang out with her friends there in Washington. Everything had been going exactly how she had dreamed of it happening. She was wearing a lilac T-shirt dress with some all black converse to complement her makeup skills that she were to showcase for the first time. Aliya woke up about half an hour earlier to do her signature look which consisted of a shimmery purple eyeshadow on the lid and a blended out black shadow on the crease. She didn’t go so heavy handed this time because well... it is school but it was just the perfect amount to make her eyes stand out. Usually Aliya would wear all neutral colors so she could blend in and not stand out in the crowd, but today she wanted to feel good and one thing that always helped her confidence was dressing nice. With that, her dad dropped her off at school and she went to find Laurie waiting for her outside their home room with 20 minutes till the bell rang so they could talk. 

Laurie was bouncing up and down at 7:40 just like usual and she was well aware that almost all of her classmates hated her in the morning because it was just too early for that. But any other time in the day, Laurie was one of those kids that everyone was friends with. She was the one that everyone flocked to do projects with, the one who would stop and talk to everyone in the hallways giving them all direct eye contact, making everyone laugh and smile. Aliya though to herself “wow how in the world did I end up with her out of everyone?” She felt so special to be the one that Laurie Hernandez chose to befriend. That chatted about how the gymnastics team all went out to have dinner with each other as a group once a month and basically what were to happen after school. Aliya soon learned that Laurie was allowed to bring a friend with her to the dinner, that being Aliya. She was so excited that she has the opportunity to meet other girls her age with similar interests and personality as herself. All she wanted was to have a good group of friends, friends she could rely on, something you would see on tv shows. 

Soon enough the bell started to ring and all the students waiting for Ms. Haney to open the door piled in quickly. Aliya and Laurie walked in together and sat at a lab table in the middle row, waiting to get these 50 minutes over with. Aliya had an odd habit of watching everyone walk through the door and catching eye contact as often as possible. She never knew why she did it but it was just her way of knowing her surroundings and assuring that she’s safe. Boys walked through the door making awkward gang signs telling their closest friends about the party they were having later that night. Girls walked in asking each other what pictures they should post on Instagram, just your common American High school experience. Aliya was observing everyone when she made eye contact with a certain person. 

Aly walked through the door without a care in the world, wearing sweats and an old pair of glasses. Aly locked eyes with Aliya for what felt like hours but what was most likely 5 seconds. Aliya recognized her immediately as the insanely beautiful girl from watching the gymnastics team practice yesterday. While yes she did see her for four days in a row already, watching the practice yesterday made this one girl really stand out to Aliya. But this time in particular, it seemed different. The usual shimmering eyed girl seemed to have a pain in her eyes, with no joy in sight. Before Aliya realized the look in Aly’s eyes, she automatically flashed a huge comforting grin until it hit her that the other did not return one, and her smile turned into a frown. Why didn’t she seem like her normal self? Aliya woke up with a smile on her face knowing she was going to see Aly more intimately after school and now to see her so uninterested broke Aliya’s heart. But at the same time Aliya was wondering “why am I so crazy about getting to know this girl?” Before she could process it all, Aly walked over and sat at the lab table right in front of Laurie and hers. Since there was only two seats a table, Aly was now sitting alone, directly in front of Aliya, not saying a word. 

As Ms. Haney was getting her lesson plans ready for the day, Laurie glanced over at Aliya mouthing “what’s wrong with her” while gently pointing to Aly. Even Laurie who was one of Aly’s closest friends didn’t know what was going on, which stressed out Aliya because the thought of becoming good friends with her and her friend group made her so happy. Finally the teacher got her stuff together and began the lesson continuing on the introduction to biology with going more into detail of plant cells. Ten minutes until class ended Ms. Haney said “ok guys that’s it for today, it’s Friday just talk quietly amongst yourselves.” This gave Laurie the perfect opportunity to go and ask Aly what’s wrong. 

The very millisecond Ms. Haney said that, Aly got her headphones out from her bag and plugged them into her computer and started listening to music. But Laurie had to get to the bottom of this so she tapped her shoulder and Aly turned around furrowing her eyebrows. Laurie asked “hey are you ok?” Aly was slow to respond but she answered hesitantly “...um not really I had a really rough night and I don’t feel so well.” Laurie just felt so bad and said “I’m so sorry, you can turn around towards us if you want.” So Aly gave a very small smile and turned around with her chair right in the center of Laurie and Aliya’s lab table. Even though the sight of Aly made Aliya a bit upset, she sympathized with her and felt that she might not be suited to hang out tonight. But yet again The thoughts of “why do I care so much” ran throughout Aliya’s head constantly. 

As Laurie started to console Aly by leaning over and patting her back, Aly started speaking quietly “yea I’m pretty tired, I woke up in the middle of the night sweating cause I was really stressed out.” In reality, Aly was making it seem a lot less than it actually was just to keep it semi private. The whole time Aly was talking with her head towards Laurie but little did she know that Aliya was taking in every detail of Aly’s face. She watched how her glossed over pink lips moved with every word. She watched how her eyes lit up when Laurie would say something remotely hilarious. The rosy tone of her cheeks swiped across her nose as her forehead started to shine with warmth due to her hoodie and sweatpants consuming her small frame. Aliya spoke not a word until a few minutes passed of Laurie and Aly chatting until she spoke up by saying “you don’t have to come after school if you don’t want to ya know” with a shy smile. Both Laurie and Aly’s faces darted toward Aliya. Laurie just stared at her grinning because she knew Aliya had a difficult time talking to new people. She felt like a proud mom. Aly finally responded caught off guard with “oh yeah I’m not sure if I will be going but I’ll keep you both updated!” That one phrase of assurance from Aliya almost seemed as if it brightened up Aly’s pained appearance. After saying that, Aly let out another small smile looking straight into Aliya’s eyes so that she knew she appreciated her for saying that. Right then the bell rang and it was time for the group to all part ways once again. 

The day continued as it usually did for Aliya with the exception of the sight of Aly smiling going through her mind like those geico advertisements carried by blimps in the sky. It would not leave her alone. She had grown so protective over Aly. She felt obliged to become friends with her so she could watch over to make sure she was ok at all times. While she sat through many classes of teachers just talking and talking about their children or their hobbies, she was so confused how quickly she was to want to care for someone like that, something she would only do for her family members. 

Pretty soon the day was coming to a close and Aliya still had no answers. The dismissal bell rang and she walked over to her locker to retrieve all the work she dropped off earlier that she needed to complete on the weekend. The school was one that specialized in classes of the fine arts so those students had large lockers to put their equipment and supplies in. But there was a program for students to opt out and experience classic high school classes which was what Aliya was in and that’s why she had a smaller locker that sat nicely at the end of the hallway in the corner spot. As all the students bolted out the door to the bus,their cars or to their friends, the crowd died down as Aliya closed her locker getting ready to go meet Laurie until the girl with the dark hazelnut colored eyes appeared standing right next to her as she shut the locker. 

“Oh hi... how long have you been standing here?” Aliya asked. Aly responded quickly “not too long don’t worry but I just wanted you to know that I don’t think I can really make it to dinner tonight. It was quite a struggle trying to get through the day and I have a huge headache I really should just stay in tonight and get some sleep. I told Laurie already so she knows. Listen though, I know you’re new to the school and I feel really bad for not being able to go so I was wondering if you wanted to go to the mall as a group tomorrow?” Aliya got all hot and anxious after she asked that. It was like all of her dreams were coming true. She watched Aly speak every word so confidently with such ease. Her features were all so beautiful and when it came to be Aliya’s time to respond, she was almost speechless. All she could say was “ugh... yea yea of course.” Not even a millisecond later reaching in her pocket grabbing a sticky note with her phone number on it Aly goes “perfect, I’ll text you where we can meet up. See you tomorrow!” It was almost like she was in a movie scene when the girls crush comes up to her and she gets all butterflies in her stomach and can barely speak. Yes she hugged her the day prior but after seeing Aly in such a vulnerable, real state, she really clung to her and found everything she did more and more interesting as the week went on. Aliya was torn because she was so sad that she couldn’t get to know Aly that night when she would meet all of the other girls, but she was happy that she was going to see her the next day in a more intimate setting with just the three of them. 

Aliya walked away to meet Laurie by the school entrance with a smile on her face. Only a few minutes later, she was walking with Laurie to her house where they would stay for a few hours until they would meet up at IHOP with the rest of the team. 

Laurie’s house was decorated with family photos and bible quotes all over which gave Aliya the idea that Laurie’s family was extremely close and fed into how friendly and giving Laurie was. As time passed by, Aliya really got to know all about Laurie and what gymnastics, school and people are really like in Washington. Before they knew it, it reached around 6:30 and they were ready to head off to IHOP. She had told her dad earlier that she was going with her new friends instead of him, to which he was sad he couldn’t go but didn’t mind. 

The duo had gotten to the diner after a few minutes of walking and Aliya could not be more excited for the pancakes she had been drooling over all week. They walked in to greet over 20 other girls, the sight was too much for Aliya to handle but she knew that with Laurie, she was safe and was going to have a good time. Laurie told Aliya to say hi to everyone there so she walked in and hugged every person there until they both reconvened and sat down at one of the booths that already had 3 other girls sitting there. Laurie led them to that booth because those seemed to be her closest friends. She walked over and said “hey guys this is Aliya no she’s not a gymnast but she’s really chill trust me you’ll love her.” Then Laurie gestured to one of the two girls sat together on one side. “This is Madison Kocian, you can call her Madi or whatever you want she’s just amazing! Then over here is Simone, she’s definitely going to be the best gymnast in the world one day and finally on the other side is Gabby, who’s truly so talented. Enough small talk, I’ve waited all day for this.” 

They finally got to order after what felt like decades. Aliya’s head was running crazy. She was baffled how sweet all of the girls were. Each and every one of them were just so kind and welcoming. Soon the beautiful stack of chocolate chip pancakes she ordered came out and appeared beneath her. The chocolate chips were melting into the pancake from the hot syrup poured on it and the strawberry’s fell so perfectly into the whipped cream it was like she was in heaven. 

The whole table continued to erupt in laughter and just about inhaled all of their food when Aliya said “hold on a second I wanna do something.” So she took the sticky not out from her pocket, made Aly’s contact on her phone and FaceTimed her with the whole table in frame. The word ‘connecting’ flashed upon the screen and soon enough Aly was there with them. The second Laurie saw her on the phone she yelled “POOR LIL BABY HOW ARE YOU DOING??” Aly rolled over onto her stomach and smiled “much much better I miss you guys so much I wish I was there!” After Aliya said hello to Aly and that she was sad she couldn’t make it, the girls started talking to Aly about old stories they had of their dinners together over the last 3 years and just reminiscing over old times. While they were doing that, Aliya was staring at Aly on the other side of the phone. She was in bed on her stomach wearing a black tank top with thin spaghetti straps with her blanket wrapped around her back. As she was propped up on her elbows, it was quite a revealing angle and although they were all good friends, Aliya was trying to keep her thoughts to herself because none of the other girls mentioned anything of that sort. But it was her muscular décolletage and biceps that were so prominent yet still so feminine along with the inches and inches of skin on display for Aliya to nonchalantly stare at that made her feel like she was invading her privacy but at the same time she continued to stare. Her hair was tied up in a high bun making her neck so vulnerable to look at. Aliya’s head was throbbing and she didn’t know completely why but she was pretty sure it was just the sight in front of her making her so heated. 

Earlier in the day she was confused about why she cares for Aly so much when she’d only know her for a week and now she sees her and it’s almost like she craves seeing her. Aliya had never felt anything like this before which made it even more confusing. Once again, Aliya was speechless and when it got to the time to say goodbye, Aly said “bye Aliya I’ll text you later” and all Aliya did was smile and end the call. 

The rest of the night was a blur as the same thing that was running through Aliya’s mind all week was still going. Why did she care about her so much?” It was a question she still didn’t have the answer to. At the end of the night, Aliya was walking into her house when her phone buzzed with a text from Aly saying “hey Aliya once again I’m so sorry I couldn’t make it to dinner! I’m feeling much better now and I’m excited to see you and Laurie tomorrow. Can you meet me at 12pm in front of the mall entrance?” At this time Aly just plopped down on her bed, texted back “yup. See you tomorrow” and went straight to bed. 

It was yet another night Aliya had to suffer through not having answers to questions that were pounding at her head. She couldn’t even process her new life for a few minutes before she just fell right asleep wondering what the next day would have in store for her.


End file.
